My Busy Life

MissOptimistic

Hi Sidneysmum - congratulations on your soon to be third grandchild - lovely news :j I'm sure you will manage just fine with three little ones, by the time it comes round your grandson will be that little bit older & will enjoy being your 'little helper'
What a nuisance about your broken ornament, I think you will find that Royal Mail are very reluctant to pay out unless you have a receipt & can prove its value, this has happened to me too.
Your free wheelbarrow sounds great, I bet it will look lovely all painted. & planted up. I really need to get in our garden & sort it out, my parents have a lot of p,ants for me to put in & they need planting before spring ideally, they are coming to see me on Thursday so maybe I shall ask them to bring the plants over.
This week if half term for us, so I will have my two teenage sons at home & my daughter, I do like them being home though. We are going to start decorating our lounge, so I'm hoping they will help to strip the paper from one wall. I put our lounge curtains on Ebay yesterday for £75 & sold them within the hour so the decorating is being speeded up somewhat lol! I wish I had asked a bit more now!
That lady is bringing me another pair of curtains this week to alter, so that will be another £30-£40 towards the fence (she wants some tiebacks making too) we almost have the £180 to repair the side fence and its being done on Wednesday - thank goodness, its horrible being so open to everyone who walks past!
Anyway, I hope you've had a lovely money making weekend! x

sidneysmum

MissOptimistic - Your life sounds really busy like mine. I hope you manage to survive the half term and get your kids to help with the wallpaper stripping !! You are right about Royal Mail. They are very reluctant to pay out so I have just decided to put it down to experience and forget about it. I just refunded my buyer with the full amount. I wanted to treat her as I would like to be treated myself. Perhaps Royal Mail should adopt that policy too !!! Anyway I have drawn a line under it. I think from now on I am just going to do "collection only " for anything breakable. You sound as though you are doing well with your Ebaying. I didn't make tons of money on Sunday but what I did do was to get rid of loads of low value items. I can only list 6 more items this month so I am going to try and get rid of some big stuff so I can make some room in the spare bedroom. I have no sooner got rid of a load of stuff, than I find some more. At the moment I am sorting out my baby granddaughters clothing. Even though there is a new baby on its way, I have enough stuff for the Walton sextuplets.......so its all being sold or re purposed !! Anyway keep busy x

Sunday saw me up reasonably early and i went to the gym and did my usual 60 minutes. I then took Sid to the park for her run around. My neighbour went to a rental property i own and returned with a spare paire of aluminum ladders. They are just in my garage along with several other sets. I will soon be making decisions as to which are going on Ebay ! I went to the cinema yesterday lunchtime to see New York Winters Tale". It was not really my cup of tea but quite enjoyable all the same. I was home by mid afternoon so had time to pack all my ebay sales and do a spot of cooking. I made a huge pan of cooked mixed vegetables to use in curry and pasta bakes etc this week. I also made a cauldron full of BNSQ soup. I am doing quite well at using up a lot of the food in the house to keep my spends at a low.
Today has been a work day for me. A lady who i work with very kindly gave me some toddler clothes for when my grandaughter is a bit older. I have put it out of the way for now. Work was ok and passed quite quickly. I managed to check my banking and found the TV licensing bods had repaid me some money. Great stuff. I also made a doctors appointment for Thursday of this week as i am still feeling very lightheaded and under par. Hopefully something will be sorted on Thursday.
On my way home from work I went to the post office and posted most of my ebay parcels. £30 !! When I got home I had a visit from a friend of my sons who has been doing a few little jobs for me on a rental property. He fitted me a 2nd hand wood effect UPVC front door for £20 and saved me an arm and a leg. Later this week he is going to put some new rubber seal round the tilt and slide french windows in my dining room - the price is included in the £20 !!! It feels so good to be sorting thing out and making progress. Anyway I have just been out for a quick walk with my neighbour, catching up with gossip and news. I have also sorted out a huge pile of newborn and first size baby clothing which is going to be Ebayed over the next few weeks.
Anyway I hope everyone has had a great moneysaving few days.:)

sidneysmum

I wasn't at work yesterday due to a hospital appointment but made best use of the rest of the day. I was up early and got on with some chores before going to the gym. Did my usual 60 minutes on the treadmill followed by a dance aerobics class. Even though i am not feeling 100% at the moment I am just trying to carry on as normal until i get to see the doctor on Thursday. I actually feel better if I am occupied. It keeps my mind off feeling dizzy and sick. Anyway......I got on with a few chores as well as keeping fit. I ordered 2 fence panels to be delivered on Friday, which is progress. Also did a few draft listings for Ebay. I can only list 6 more items this month so i am going to try and get rid of some big items.
In the afternoon I went to the cinema to see " Nebraska". Lets just say it was so so. I wouldn't recommend anyone rush out to see it. I also called at my local M&S and bought 2 pairs of jogging bottoms. I wear joggers every day to go to the gym and have about 8 pairs in my wardrobe. Some of them are just massive so I am now only keeping size 8 medium and the rest have gone in the rag bag. I have come to a time where i think, I am not saving anything for "best". I want to look and feel my best now, and not sometime in the future ! I have a set of lovely kitchen mugs which I have saved for "best". Well no longer. I binned all my everyday mugs and have set about using my "best" ones.
I had a quiet night last night. A lady called to pick up a tea pot i had sold on Ebay. I also did a load of ironing. I have lots of baby clothes to put on ebay. The smallest sizes are now all washed and ironed and ready to go.
Anyway I hope everyone had a great moneysaving day

MissOptimistic

Hi Sidneysmum, just popping in to say I hope you get sorted out at the Doctors tomorrow, I wondered if it could be something to do with your ear, as I know that can cause dizziness - anyway I hope you get some answers.
Today our fence had been repaired :j so it feels a little more private now, just need to get the bottom fence done now & some good news on that front too, he said he would knock some money off the quote if he was allowed to put a sign on the reverse of the fence (which backs onto a footpath) with his advertising details - result!
I altered the other pair of curtains today after taking my daughter to her friends house to play, my sons (being teenagers) were holed up in their rooms most of the day! So that was £25 made and then a lady came to pick up a new roller blind that has been in my loft for the past 5 years for £7 and finally I sold my lounge sideboard on gumtree for £100 as we've had it 10 years and are ready for a change
You could try Gumtree if you have any larger items perhaps, it was the first time I had used it, but it was free, no commission to pay to paypal or ebay & it worked in my case - might be worth checking out if you have run out of ebay listing allocations?
No running done yet this week and probably won't manage any tomorrow as my mum & sister are visiting with my little niece & nephew, so I will be busy!
Have a lovely day x

girlatplay

sidneysmum wrote: »

I have come to a time where i think, I am not saving anything for "best". I want to look and feel my best now, and not sometime in the future ! I have a set of lovely kitchen mugs which I have saved for "best". Well no longer. I binned all my everyday mugs and have set about using my "best" ones.

I love this! I will work on that. x

sidneysmum

MissOptimistic- Thanks for posting and glad you are managing to make some money !! I have been to the doctors today and she said I have something called labyrnthitis which is basically a problem with my middle ear which is causing all my balance and sickness problems. She immediately prescribed me with tablets called Stemetil.....so we shall see if things improve. x

Girlatplay - Glad you approve of my idea. Today I went into town and bought myself 5 new t shirts for the gym. The old ones went in the rag bag !!! x

Its been a busy couple of days. I am getting up at 6am or thereabouts and cracking on with chores. Yesterday I did loads more ironing of baby clothes i plan to put on ebay. I then had to dart down the road to push a card through the door of my friend who had a baby that morning. Sidney got dragged with me. Next stop was Tesco where i stocked up on 4 large jars of coffee. I always buy Kenko Rapport and was told it was half price.....so I stocked up ! Also called for petrol whilst I was out. Next stop was the gym where i did my usual 60 minutes and then i went to a new daytime zumba class which was great. I am really enjoying the challenge of a new class. It makes me think. The rest of yesterday was spent doing chores in the house before i met my friend at the carvery for our tea. £6.25 for a big carvery meal plus a drink and an ice cream. A bargain night out.
Today i was up early again and i went to the town centre gym. Did my usual hour then had a quick trip round the shops getting a few t shirts and some veg for my guinea pigs. Back to the gym for my dance aerobics class which was great fun. Before coming home i drove to Aldi and spent £23 on basics. I bought a huge chicken, a huge gammon and loads of fruit and veg. I am just not eating processed food where at all possible. This afternoon I went to the doctors then a roofer came round to give me a price for re roofing my house. He absolutely staggered me with his advise. He told me that although my roof wasn't the best he`d seen, his advice was to leave it as it is until it starts to cause me problems. If its not broke, dont fix it. So i am going to give myself a bit of breathing space and have a think what to do. I have got a lot going on in my life over the next couple of months and it would be a relief not to have to worry about my roof. So the plan for now is to keep saving then have a rethink in a couple of months. Before the end of May, I have a lot to do. I have to organise a few repairs to a rental property over the next fortnight. I also have my car MOT due, several big bills are due to arrive and i have to attend a 4 day court case. So the roof is going on the back burner for now.
The rest of the afternoon has been spent listing a few more items on ebay followed by my tea time zumba class which was good. As soon as I had finished I went for a quick walk with my Slimming World neighbour who has now lost 1 stone. We called off at the Co-op and i managed to get 2 reduced pizzas which I will cut up and freeze for my grandson to eat !
Anyway I am quite tired now, so i plan on a bit of googling then bed ! I hope everyone has had a great moneysaving day .

girlatplay

Aww I'm sorry to hear you have Labyrinthitis. My mum suffers from that. It is not all the time, just sporadically. I remember when she was first diagnosed. We were on holiday in Cornwall and I was about 12. She couldn't get out of bed because she felt so dizzy. It was awful. Lucky she doesn't get it too often. I hope yours goes away soon and doesn't come back anytime soon. At least you are getting around which is a good thing.

Great news about the roof! Probably a good idea to keep putting a little something away for it as it will no doubt need done at some point.

x

sidneysmum

girlatplay - Thanks for posting. I actually am starting to feel loads better now i have taken some tablets.....and i hope it doesn't return. My sympathies to your mum!!!
Regarding the roof, my plan now is to carry on saving as much as i can. I am going to pay all my big bills out of my savings then resume saving until i have enough to cover the new roof. I haven't been updating my savings signature recently so i might just have enough now. I am going to do a proper rain check in about 2/3 months when all my big bills have been paid and i have got a new tenant in my rental house. x

Yesterday was a nice day. I was up early. Again I got up at 6 even though it was my day off and got loads of chores done round the house. I made some cauli soup and decided to actually make an insurance claim against parcelforce for the broken ornament. It will probably come to nothing but at least i will have tried. At 9am my new fence panels arrived and they are just propped up in the garden. I am going to speak to my immediate neighbour Ray and ask him to help me put them up. He has already provisionally agreed. I said i would buy the panels if the helped fit them. Its not just a matter of slotting them in. They have to be screwed to posts.
After the delivery i went to my rental house and ripped up the front bedroom carpet. I have actually got new tenants sorted but i have to do a few jobs in order for them to move in. The previous tenant had left a perfectly good garden incinerator which is now sat in my garden looking the part !!
In the afternoon I went to the cinema to see "Non stop" which came out yesterday....Liam Neeson. It was quite entertaining. After a quick snack i went straight to zumba and had a dance about. Next I called for the grand-kids who stayed the night. It was all over too quickly as this morning i took them back instead of keeping them for the day. I am going out tonight for my junior school reunion and am expecting a late night. I didn't want to keep the kids all day as i am worn out looking after them both. So today i have pretty much stayed in but made quite a lot of progress. I have made draft listings for a lot of ebay items which i will formally list on Thursday. Also paid my British gas and have done a few other chores ready for going to work on Monday. The car is loaded up with 3 more bags of clothes to go to the cash for rags shop when i am next passing it. The plan for the rest of today is to do a few more chores then have a nice shower and pamper before going on my night out. Fingers crossed it goes OK !!!
Anyway I hope everyone has had a great moneysaving day

sidneysmum

I couldn’t believe that I managed to get up before 7am yesterday morning despite being very late in bed after the school reunion. We had a great night and have made plans to get together in the summer. I really hope it goes ahead. I decided to go to the town centre car boot sale at 7am as it was the first one of the year. I wasn’t too impressed although I managed to spend £1.70. I bought a child’s toy microwave, a toy pull along shopping trolley and a dinosaur book. My grandson will love them. Went straight to the gym and did my usual 60 minutes on the treadmill. Came home and took Sid straight out to the park. I decided to go to the late morning showing of “The book thief” which was on at the cinema. It was really good. I wanted to see it early in the day so I could get on with chores later. I had to call at my empty rental house to measure for a carpet which will hopefully be sorted out this week. I found a brand new rotary garden dryer whilst I was there so I brought it home to try in my garden. I also got down to my ebay packing. I was also very fortunate to sell a retro coffee table for £85 and the chap came and picked it up straight away. My cousin also dropped off a spare Hoover which had belonged to our aunt who has gone in the home. All in all a rather busy afternoon.
All my ebay sales from yesterday were packed up and all paid for. I have only got about 6 listed to end this coming Sunday but I will be listing a lot more to finish the Sunday afterwards. I just cannot believe the stuff I am getting rid of. The spare bedroom is still full of stuff but it is a lot less cluttered than when I first started ebaying. I think I have sold most of my high value items but have got hundreds of lower value things to sell. I am just going to have to knuckle down to listing them all. I have tons of children’s clothing that is spare so I think I need to tackle that next. It is just taking up a huge amount of space
Anyway I hope everyone had a great moneysaving day

sidneysmum

I had quite a successful day yesterday. Up nice and early to go to work. Managed to leave early and called at the “cash for rags” shop yet again on my way home and got another £8.50 !! Next stop was the post office where I dispensed with all my ebay parcels. Luckily everyone had paid speedily so I won’t have to go again until the next bout of sales are ready. Once home I had to stay in for a couple of hours and wait of a carpet fitter collecting a key from me. He is fitting a carpet at my rental house. So to pass a couple of hours I did more draft ebay listings. I have decided to list quite a lot of items on Thursday as I am off work next week so will have more time top deal with all the packing up etc. Also hopefully make some more money.
At tea time I went out with my friend for a nice walk round. We have discovered that the co-op which is on our route reduces food at about 6.30 so we have been calling in. I have managed to get a couple of bargains recently. Later I just made a few phone calls.
Anyway I hope everyone has had a great moneysaving day.